the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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King James Version
Job 29:25
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Like a chief, I told them what to do. I lived like a king among his troops and comforted those who mourned.
I chose out their way, and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.
I chose out their way, and sat [as] chief, And dwelt as a king in the army, As one that comforts the mourners.
I chose the way for them and was their leader. I lived like a king among his army, like a person who comforts sad people.
I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I lived like a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.
I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one [that] comforteth the mourners.
I chose out their way, and sat as chief. I lived as a king in the army, As one who comforts the mourners.
"I chose a way for them and sat as chief, And dwelt as a king among his soldiers, As one who comforts mourners.
I chose their way and sat as chief, and I lived like a king among his troops, like one who comforts mourners.
If Y wolde go to hem, Y sat the firste; and whanne Y sat as kyng, while the oost stood aboute, netheles Y was comfortour of hem that morenyden.
I chose their course and presided as chief. So I dwelt as a king among his troops, as a comforter of the mourners.
My advice was followed as though I were a king leading my troops, or someone comforting those in sorrow.
I chose out their way, and sat as chief, And dwelt as a king in the army, As one that comforteth the mourners.
I took my place as a chief, guiding them on their way, and I was as a king among his army. Three dots are used where it is no longer possible to be certain of the true sense of the Hebrew words, and for this reason no attempt has been made to put them into Basic English.
I chose their way [for them], sitting as chief; I lived like a king in the army, like one who comforts mourners.
I chose their way, and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth mourners.
I was their leader and made decisions about their future. I was like a king among his troops, comforting those who were sad.
I chose out their way, and sat as chief,
I chose out their way, and sate chiefe, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.
I decided the way for them and sat as their leader. I lived as a king among his army, and like one who gives comfort to those in sorrow.
I chose their way, and sat as chief, and I lived like a king among his troops, like one who comforts mourners.
I appoynted out their way, and did sit as chiefe, and dwelt as a King in the army, and like him that comforteth the mourners.
I searched out their ways, and then returned and dwelt as a king in his army, like one who comforts the mourners.
I took charge and made the decisions; I led them as a king leads his troops, and gave them comfort in their despair.
I chose out their way, and sat chief, - and abode, as king, in an army, as one who, to mourners, giveth comfort.
If I had a mind to go to them, I sat first, and when I sat as a king, with his army standing about him, yet I was a comforter of them that mourned.
I chose their way, and sat as chief, and I dwelt like a king among his troops, like one who comforts mourners.
When I agreed vnto their way, I was the chiefe, and sate as a king with his armie about him: and when they were in heauinesse, I was their comfortour.
I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the midst of warriors, as one comforting mourners.
I directed their course and presided as chief.I lived as a king among his troops,like one who comforts those who mourn.
I chose out their way, and sat as chief. I lived as a king in the army, As one who comforts the mourners.
I chose their way, and I sat as head, and I dwelled like a king among the troops, like one who comforts mourners.
I chose out their way, and sat as chief; and I lived like a king among the troops; as the mourners, and he who comforts.
I choose their way, and sit head, And I dwell as a king in a troop, When mourners he doth comfort.
When I agreed vnto their waye, I was the chefe, & sat as a kynge amonge his seruauntes: Or as one that comforteth soch as be in heuynesse.
"I chose a way for them and sat as chief, And lived as a king among the troops, As one who comforted the mourners.
I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, As one who comforts mourners.
"I chose a way for them and sat as chief, And dwelt as a king among the troops, As one who comforted the mourners.
I chose a way for them and sat as chief,And dwelt as their head among the troops,As one who comforted the mourners.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
chose out: Genesis 41:40, Judges 11:8, 2 Samuel 5:2, 1 Chronicles 13:1-4
dwelt: Genesis 14:14-17, Deuteronomy 33:5
one that: Job 4:3, Job 4:4, Isaiah 35:3, Isaiah 35:4, Isaiah 61:1-3, 2 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:4, 2 Corinthians 7:5-7, 1 Thessalonians 3:2, 1 Thessalonians 3:3
Reciprocal: Job 1:3 - greatest Job 16:5 - But I would Proverbs 19:6 - will
Cross-References
And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the Lord : therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.
And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
I chose out their way,.... When his friends and neighbours came to him for advice in things civil, he marked out their way for them, directed what steps to take, what methods to pursue for their good; they desired him to choose for them, preferring his judgment to theirs, and were determined to abide by his choice of ways and means, and to follow his counsel; and in religious matters, he instructed them in their duty, both towards God and men, and proposed unto them what was most eligible, both with respect to doctrine and practice;
and sat chief; in all their public assemblies; he presided in their councils and courts of judicature; and when met together for religious worship, he sat in the chair of the teacher, and instructed them; he was chief speaker, as the Heathens said of the Apostle Paul, Acts 14:12;
and dwelt as a king in the army, or "troop" k. Mr. Broughton renders it with a garrison; Job was surrounded with multitudes of persons, that waited upon him on one account or another, who were ready to receive his words, and be obedient to them, as a king or general in the midst of an army, surrounded by his general officers, and the whole army encamped about him, doing him honour, and ready to obey whatever commands or instructions he should give them; some conclude from hence that Job was really a king, as being not a note of similitude, but of truth and reality, as in Matthew 14:2; and so he might be; for in those times and countries every city almost had its king; though this is not necessarily supposed here; for the phrase seems only to denote the authority and influence Job had over men by his advice and instruction, which were as much regarded as from a king; and the majesty he appeared in, and the reverence in which he was had:
as one [that] comforteth the mourners: which some restrain to the king in his army, and connect them therewith thus, "when he comforteth the mourners" l; the soldiers mourning for some loss sustained, and slaughter made among them; whose minds the king or general by a set speech endeavours to cheer, and comfort, and allay their fears, and animate them to intrepidity and fortitude, when all eyes are upon him and attentive to him; and so attentive were Job's hearers to him. Bar Tzemach observes, that the copulative ו, or "and", is wanting, and so is a clause by itself, and expresses something distinct from the forager, and may be supplied, "and I was as one that comforteth the mourners"; as a wise man that comforteth them, as Aben Ezra explains it; like one that made it his business to visit mourners in affliction, on account of the death of a relation, and the like: see Job 11:19; and speaks comfortable words to them, to support them under their sorrow; when such an one used to speak alone, and all stood silent before him, and attentive to him; and in a like position was Job, when he gave his instructions to those about him; and he was, no doubt, a comforter of mourners himself, being either in temporal afflictions, or in spiritual troubles; comforted those that were cast down in either sense, and was a type of Christ, who was appointed to comfort all that mourn in Zion.
k בגדוד "in agmine", Montanus, Bolducius; "in turma", Mercerus, Drusius, Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens. l כאשר "quando", Junius Tremellius, Drusius "quum vel quando", Schmidt.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
I chose out their way - That is, I became their guide and counsellor. Rosenmuller and Noyes explain this as meaning, “When I came among them;” that is, when I chose to go in their way, or in their midst. But the former interpretation better agrees with the Hebrew, and with the connection. Job is speaking of the honors shown to him, and one of the highest which he could receive was to be regarded as a leader, and to have such respect shown to his opinions that he was even allowed to select the way in which they should go; that is, that his counsel was implicitly followed.
And sat chief - Hebrew “Sat head.” He was at the head of their assemblies.
And dwelt as a king in the army - As a king, surrounded by a multitude of troops, all of whom were subservient to his will, and whom he could command at pleasure. It is not to be inferred from this, that Job was a king, or that he was at the head of a nation. The idea is, merely, that the same respect was shown to him which is to a monarch at the head of an army.
As one that comforteth the mourners - In time of peace I was their counsellor, and in time of war they looked to me for direction, and in time of affliction they came to me for consolation. There were no classes which did not show me respect, and there were no honors which they were not ready to heap on me.
It may seem, perhaps, that in this chapter there is a degree of self-commendation and praise altogether inconsistent with that consciousness of deep unworthiness which a truly pious man should have. How, it may be asked, can this spirit be consistent with religion? Can a man who has any proper sense of the depravity of his heart, speak thus in commendation of his own righteousness, and recount with such apparent satisfaction his own good deeds? Would not true piety be more distrustful of self, and be less disposed, to magnify its own doings? And is there not here a recalling to recollection of former honors, in a manner which shows that the heart was more attached to them than that of a map whose hope is in heaven should be? It may not be possible to vindicate Job in this respect altogether, nor is it necessary for us to attempt to prove that he was entirely perfect. We are to remember, also, the age in which he lived; we are not to measure what he said and did by the knowledge which we have, and the clearer light which shines upon us. We are to bear in recollection the circumstances in which he was placed, and perhaps we shall find in them a mitigation for what seems to us to exhibit such a spirit of self-reliance, and which looks so much like the lingering love of the honors of this world. Particularly we may recall the following considerations:
(1) He was vindicating himself from charges of enormous guilt and hypocrisy. To meet these charges, he runs over the leading events of his life, and shows what had been his general aim and purpose. He reminds them, also, of the respect and honor which had been shown him by those who best knew him - by the poor the needy, the inhabitants of his own city, the people of his own tribe. To vindicate himself from the severe charges which had been alleged against him, it was not improper thus to advert to the general course of his life, and to refer to the respect in which he had been held. Who could know him better than his neighbors? Who could be better witnesses than the poor whom he had relieved; and the lame, the blind, the sorrowful, whom he had comforted? Who could better testify to his character than they who had followed his counsel in times of perplexity and danger? Who would be more competent witnesses than the mourners whom he had comforted?
(2) It was a main object with Job to show the greatness of his distress and misery, and for this purpose he went into an extended statement of his former happiness, and especially of the respect which had been shown him. This he contrasts beautifully with his present condition, and the colors of the picture are greatly heightened by the contrast. In forming our estimate of this chapter, we should take this object into the account, and should not charge him with a design to magnify his own righteousness, when his main purpose was only to exhibit the extent and depth of his present woes.
(3) It is not improper for a man to speak of his former prosperity and happiness in the manner in which Job did. He does not speak of himself as having any merit, or as relying on this for salvation. He distinctly traces it all to God Job 29:2-5, and says that it was because he blessed him that he had enjoyed these comforts. It was not an improper acknowledgment of the mercies which he had received from his hand, and the remembrance was fitted to excite his gratitude. And although there may seem to us something like parade and ostentation in thus dwelling on former honors, and recounting what he had done in days that were past, yet we should remember how natural it was for him, in the circumstances of trial in which he then was, to revert to past scenes, and to recall the times of prosperity, and the days when he enjoyed the favor of God.
(4) It may be added, that few people have ever lived to whom this description would be applicable. It must have required uncommon and very remarkable worth to have made it proper for him thus to speak, and to be able to say all this so as not to be exposed to contradiction. The description is one of great beauty, and presents a lovely picture of patriarchal piety, and of the respect which then was shown to eminent virtue and worth. It is an illustration of the respect that will be, and that ought to be, shown to one who is upright in his dealings with people, benevolent toward the poor and the helpless, and steady in his walk with God.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 29:25. I chose out their way, and sat chief - as a king in the army] I cannot see, with some learned men, that our version of the original is wrong. I have not seen it mended, and I am sure I cannot improve it. The whole verse seems to me to point out Job in his civil, military, and domestic life.
As supreme magistrate he chose out their way, adjusted their differences, and sat chief, presiding in all their civil assemblies.
As captain general he dwelt as a king in the midst of his troops, preserving order and discipline, and seeing that his fellow soldiers were provided with requisites for their warfare, and the necessaries of life.
As a man he did not think himself superior to the meanest offices in domestic life, to relieve or support his fellow creatures; he went about comforting the mourners - visiting the sick and afflicted, and ministering to their wants, and seeing that the wounded were properly attended. Noble Job! Look at him, ye nobles of the earth, ye lieutenants of counties, ye generals of armies, and ye lords of provinces. Look at JOB! Imitate his active benevolence, and be healthy and happy. Be as guardian angels in your particular districts, blessing all by your example and your bounty. Send your hunting horses to the plough, your game cocks to the dunghill; and at last live like men and Christians.
